GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia
(ELO 2615 – born 04.06.1979)
Having achieved his GM-title aged 23 in 2002, Mikheil Mchedlishvili until 2005 circled around between 2500 and 2550. For the last three years he has however been in accelerating progress, and following a number of strong results he has passed 2600 and reached the top five among Georgian grandmasters. Having won the Georgian championship twice, Mchedlishvili has also won strong international tournaments the last years - among other in Dubai 2004, Dresden 2006 and Adana 2007. Playing third board for Georgia in the Olympics of this year, he produced another plus results with 6.5/10 and a performance of 2622. Now playing his first tournament in Norway, he arrives Gjovik as an obvious candidate for top three.
Text: Hans Olav Lahlum